The Lots and Houses bin is where premade, custom and empty lots are stored to be placed in the neighborhood. In The Sims 2, the lots and houses bin is available from neighborhood view, and selecting it will allow unoccupied residential lots and unowned community lots to be edited. In The Sims 3, the player must enter "Edit Town" mode.

There are many premade houses and buildings from the The Sims 2, The Sims 3 and their expansions which can be placed in the neighborhood. They are named only by their style (ex. Craftsman, Victorian, etc.). The names of premade residential lots also include the number of bedrooms and bathrooms they have.

The Sims 2 lots and houses bin allows players to place both inhabited and uninhabited lots in the bin. However, placing inhabited lots in the bin is not advised. Players should not attempt to do this unless the inhabited lot is a new lot with a new family that has no connections to Sims or pets outside the house. If any Sim or pet in the family has any connections to Sims or pets outside the house, placing it in the lot bin and then placing it in another neighborhood will severely damage the neighborhood because the game will try to duplicate every Sim the inhabitants know.